Photo Book

I just got around to making this photo book of our family pictures from last September.  I'm kind of glad I waited so long because I got a coupon from Target about a month ago that offered a FREE 8x8 photo book from Shutterfly.  All I had to pay was shipping, so this baby only cost me $8.51!  Somehow I've managed to get all three of our annual family photo books made FREE from Shutterfly using various coupons, so I'll be on the hunt for another one this fall.  Shutterfly also said they would send me a $10 gift certificate for embedding the project on my blog, so here it is!  Enjoy!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Click here to create your own Shutterfly photo book.

Braydenese Volume #1

Welcome to the first Braydenese post!  I only have one for now, but I was so excited that he said something blog-worthy that I couldn't resist publishing.  I do have to preface this one with an explanation...sometimes when one of the boys is in my way and I need them to move, I tell them "beep beep."

1.  (Nov.) - I'm getting ready for work in the bathroom, and Brayden is in there with me.  Our bathroom is really small, and Brayden doesn't usually last very long in there with me before he wants out.  I don't like to let him out because he usually goes into Logan's room right away and wakes him up.  Today Brayden was trying to open the door to get out, but I had my foot blocking the door so he couldn't open it.  He tries to push me out of the way and says, "Beep beep!"

Halloween Festivities

This year the boys got to wear their costumes three times.  I was super excited about this because I LOVE Brayden's costume this year.  It had been Logan's two years ago, and I thought it was adorable then.  So I was really glad we were able to use it again.

Last weekend we headed out to my school for our parent organization's Trunk or Treat event.  This is a really cute idea if you haven't heard of it - people decorate the trunks of their cars, and then the kids roam around the parking lot and trick-or-treat at each car.  We had a good time.  We only stayed about an hour, but I got to see some of my co-workers and their little trick-or-treaters as well as several of my students.  Here are the boys ready to go!

On Sunday, Rossford had its annual Halloween parade.  This day had made me a little anxious for about a week before because the parade was at 2:00, which is right in the middle of nap time.  I knew we wouldn't be able to come home and nap afterward because then it would be too close to bedtime and the boys wouldn't be able to fall asleep.  I decided I would put Logan down early, skip Brayden's morning nap, and put him down at the same time as Logan.  I was sure that some part of this plan would fail miserably, but it worked out perfectly!  The boys slept from about 11:30-1:30, and then we got up and went over to Nana and Papa's for the parade.  Logan surprisingly remembered a lot of details about the parade from last year, so he was pretty excited.  (Notice his change in costume from Trunk or Treat - he refused to wear the monkey that day, so we resurrected last year's UPS driver for the day.  The monkey is this year's official costume.)  Brayden, of course, had no idea what was going on but he really liked watching the fire trucks, listening to the band and the floats with music, and watching all of the people handing out candy.  Logan got quite a collection of candy - a LOT of Tootsie Rolls, but they both seemed to have a really good time.  My favorite part?  The boys were so exhausted from all the excitement that they were both in bed by 7:30!

Halloween night was somewhat of a whirlwind.  I don't normally get home from work until about 4:15, and we had to eat, get to Nana and Papa's, and get changed all before 6:00 for trick or treating.  I knew I didn't want to take the boys out for more than a half hour or so because all three of us weren't feeling that well, and I knew Brayden would need to get to bed on time.  We attempted our annual photo in Nana's front yard with her pumpkins, but with two energetic boys on the move, it wasn't the easiest task (see our attempts below).  Uncle Troy and Stacey went with the four of us.  I had the boys in the wagon, but it didn't last all that long because it was annoying to have to get them out at every house.  Eventually Logan just walked and Brayden started skipping houses because I knew he didn't need the candy anyway.  Logan was hilarious, trying to negotiate with the people handing out candy to get a few more pieces or to choose what he got.  He would tell them he needed another piece for Daddy or Uncle Troy.  It was embarrassing, but luckily most people were good sports and just laughed.  After about a half hour, Logan decided he had to go potty, which made for a perfect end to our trick or treating event.  We changed into pajamas at Nana and Papa's, then headed home right around 7 to put the boys in bed.  They had a lot of fun, and ended up with quite a stash of candy, which Todd and I are really enjoying :)

Brayden is 14 Months!

It's been a while since I've done a monthly post about my littlest guy, but I've been pretty busy and...well...exhausted.  We've had a lot of growing up going on in our house these days - on both boys' parts, and we're all pretty worn out.

I don't even know where to begin Brayden's update.  So much has changed!  This little man is full-out running around the house now, chasing his older brother and the cat.  He has a temper that is unmatched, I believe, and for this reason, I'm slightly terrified of what future tantrums will amount to.  Most of the time, however, this little booger is SO happy.  He is constantly smiling, chattering, and playing.  He ADORES Logan, and wants to do absolutely everything his older brother does.  Watching Logan's little shadow is quite amusing, especially when Logan gets to the point where he has had enough.  Brayden already knows how to push his brother's buttons...boy are we going to have our hands full in the years to come! 

He's still a pretty great eater.  He eats a much bigger variety than Logan ever did.  He's using a fork pretty independently, too, and gets mad when I try to do it for him.  He loves juice (though he doesn't get it all that often), Cheerios, green beans, bananas, and cheese.  He knows where each individual snack is kept, and will go to that particular cabinet or the fridge and point (and cry or whine) when he wants something to eat or drink.  His belly shows that he is well-fed, and I've started calling him "Buddha Belly."

Sleep is still a struggle, and I have a feeling it will be until we get him into a big boy bed sometime next summer.  We're at the point where sometimes two long naps during the day is too much, and on those nights he'll sleep for a while and then wake up for a couple of hours during the night.  He wants nothing but Mommy when he wakes up at night, so it's been pretty rough on me.  I've tried letting him cry it out, but he's made it to an hour and a half of tears (!) before I gave in.  He'll settle down if I go in his room and sit in the rocker, but starts screaming as soon as I try to leave.  The alternative has been (shame on me) to put him in bed with me.  It is the option that I like the least, but the only option that allows both of us to actually get some sleep.  It doesn't happen every day, and I don't think he's quite ready to drop one of his naps yet, but it's coming.

Probably my favorite new development is talking.  What a chatterbox this little guy is!  He babbles all day long, and has learned so many new words in the past few weeks.  Of course, like most babies, I'm pretty much the only one who can understand what he's saying, but I'm just so excited that he is finally able to communicate his thoughts and wants.  I'm going to attempt a list of the words he can manage, but I know I'll forget some.  Here we go: Mama, Dada, Bubba, Papa, Nana, nice (what he says when he pets Sophie), ball, cup, milk, more, nana (banana), fry, cookie, book, read, uh-oh, nose, toes, pee pee, poop, no, sock, shoe, car, boat, night-night, bye-bye, baby, fish, cold, stop, backpack, map, SpongeBob, and some blabber that sounds a lot like Look at that!, I did it!, and What's that?  He also knows a few body parts - nose, belly, toes, pee pee, and hair, and some animal noises - dog, pig, lion, monkey, and cat.

He goes up and down the stairs like a pro, loves to dig in the litter box (yuck) and splash in the toilet.  He loves to put on our shoes and steal Logan's love-love.  He takes every book off the bookcase shelves in the family room every. single. day.  He hits, he kicks, he pushes, and he bites - he's definitely a boy and he's a feisty one (wonder where he gets that from?)!  He is just plain TROUBLE, but we have a hard time getting upset with him because he's just so smiley and cute all the time.  He is most definitely our little goofball.  He loves to laugh, and most of the time we find ourselves laughing right along with him.  He's my cuddly baby, so he's always stealing hugs and kisses and snuggles.

It's hard to believe there are no more babies in my house!  I not-so-secretly love it, and I'm having so much fun watching both boys grow up right before my eyes.  Bring on the toddler!

A Year in Pictures

My little boy is one today!

Let's take a look back at his first year.

 One year ago today!

One day old

 One week old

One month old

Two months old

 3 months old

 4 months old

 5 months old

 6 months old

 7 months old

8 months old

 9 months old

 10 months old

11 months old

 One year old!

Happy birthday buddy - this has been the best year ever!!

Double Ones!

Brayden is 11 MONTHS OLD today!  Can you believe it?!  (I can't)

New for Brayden over the past month:

* High fives

* Clapping

* Dancing

* Standing

* "So big" (actually I think he was doing this at 10 months, but I forgot to include it in that post)

* Incessant "talking" - His list of words now includes Dada, Mama, Bubba, Nana, Papa (but only occasionally), no no, ni ni (night night), ball, and I swear a few times he's said "key key" (kitty kitty).  He sounds like he is talking in complete sentences a lot of the time, it's just unfortunate that no one understands a word of what he's saying!

* Pointing at objects that he wants

* Occasional signs for "all done," "milk," and "more" - we're still working on this; I was much better about sign language with Logan, but Brayden's starting to pick up on it too

* Teeth #5 and 6 - he now has 4 on top and 2 on the bottom 

* Walking holding onto a moving object or holding our hands

* No more baby food!  He's eating all table food now.  I find that I rely on many of the same foods to give him because they are small or easily cut up.  I try to rotate them the best I can, but I just don't feel like I'm giving him enough variety sometimes.  I'll take any suggestions for easy-to-manage finger foods.  He tried a lot of new foods this month - too many to remember!

* Falling asleep by himself, and as a result, sleeping better throughout the night and later in the morning.  This was a HUGE accomplishment this month!!

* Eliminating our 3:30 nursing session, which was MUCH easier than I thought it would be.  I've cheated a little bit and started him on whole milk already, but just for this one feeding for now.  We are still nursing 3 times a day - morning, lunch, and bedtime.

He's such a happy little baby, and I'm shocked that he is going to be a year old (and no longer a baby) in just four short weeks.  For those of you with only one baby, just wait until you have another - time flies so much faster with the second I think!  I can't imagine how quickly it would go with a third or fourth...and NO, this is NOT in the works for us!

I feel like I included a huge mix of this month's pictures in my other posts, but here are a few that I didn't include and some from our monthly "photo session" this morning.

 When he can't reach something he wants, he has started climbing to get it.

 Walking...we're so close!

Sharing a popsicle with Logan

 Just cute!

The theme of the month was SWIMMING...and lots of it!

11 months old!